Meijer facts for kids
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Meijer store in Alpena, Michigan
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| Private | |
| Industry | Retail (Grocery & Discount) Fuel stations |
| Founded | 1934 Greenville, Michigan, U.S. |
| Founder | Hendrik Meijer |
| Headquarters | Walker, Michigan, U.S. |
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Number of locations
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Stores: 259 Fuel stations: 208 |
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Area served
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Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Ohio, Kentucky, and Wisconsin |
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Key people
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Frederik Meijer, former chairman emeritus Hank Meijer, co-chair Mark Murray, co-chair Doug Meijer, co-chair Rick Keyes, President and CEO |
| Products | Groceries, clothing, footwear, fuel, sporting clothing, bedding, furniture, jewelry, health and beauty products, toys, sporting equipment, electronics, housewares and pet supplies |
| Revenue |  US$21.95 billion (2023) |
| Owner | Meijer Companies LTD. (Meijer family (100%)) |
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Number of employees
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70,000 (Jan. 2020) |
Meijer Inc. (pronounced MY-er) is a large American store chain. It has many "supercenters" mainly across the Midwestern United States. A supercenter is a huge store that sells both groceries and general items like clothes, electronics, and toys. Meijer's main office is in Walker, Michigan. The company started in 1934 as a grocery store. It is famous for creating the modern supercenter idea in 1962. About half of its 259 stores are in Michigan. Other stores are in Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, and Wisconsin. Forbes magazine has called Meijer one of the largest private companies in the U.S.
Contents
History of Meijer Stores
How Meijer Started
Meijer was founded in 1934 by Hendrik Meijer in Greenville, Michigan. Hendrik was an immigrant from the Netherlands. He was a barber who decided to open a grocery store during the Great Depression. His 14-year-old son, Frederik Meijer, worked with him and later became the head of the company. Today, Hendrik's grandsons, Hank and Doug Meijer, help lead the company. Meijer was one of the first stores to let customers pick their own items and use shopping carts. They also sold basic items like vinegar at very low prices.
Growing the Business
The first store in Greenville was very successful. More Meijer grocery stores opened in Cedar Springs (1942) and Ionia (1946). By the 1960s, Meijer had over two dozen stores in West Michigan.
The First Supercenter
In 1962, Meijer opened a new kind of store in Grand Rapids called "Thrifty Acres." This store was huge, about 180,000 square feet. It combined a grocery store and a department store all in one building. This was a new idea at the time. The store was built with very strong floors, just in case the idea didn't work and they needed to turn the non-grocery part into a car dealership! New stores were built this way until the mid-1970s. Meijer then expanded into other parts of Michigan, including Delta Charter Township in 1966 and Ypsilanti in 1972.
Leadership and Expansion
When his father passed away in 1964, Fred Meijer took over the company. Under his leadership, the Thrifty Acres stores became very popular. In 1986, they were renamed Meijer. The smaller, stand-alone grocery stores eventually closed as the larger supercenters became more common.
Meijer was known for understanding the importance of selling good quality food. This was a key reason for their success.
In the mid-1990s, Meijer expanded into three new states. The first store in Indiana opened in Mishawaka in 1994. The first Illinois store opened in Champaign in 1995. In 1996, Meijer opened its first regular store in Kentucky in Florence, and also expanded into Ohio. More stores opened in the Chicago area and Northwest Indiana in the late 1990s and early 2000s.
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Changes and Growth in the 2000s
To stay competitive, Meijer made some changes in the early 2000s. They updated their corporate offices and stores. In 2003, the company announced that all new Meijer stores would have a fresh look and a new logo to make them feel "friendly." They hired a design company to help redesign existing stores and create plans for new ones.
In May 2007, the first environmentally friendly (LEED-certified) Meijer store opened in Allen Park, Michigan. Meijer also adjusted its management roles to handle new products like flat-screen TVs and expensive wines.
In 2009, Meijer introduced a new idea in the Chicago area called Meijer Marketplace. These were smaller stores that focused more on groceries and pharmacy items.
On November 25, 2011, Frederik Meijer passed away at the age of 91. In 2013, Meijer opened its 200th supercenter in Swartz Creek, Michigan.
Meijer opened its first store in the city of Detroit in 2013. In June 2015, Meijer opened its first stores in Wisconsin. To prepare for this, Meijer bought a distribution center in Pleasant Prairie in 2012. They also advertised at Miller Park, the home of the Milwaukee Brewers baseball team.
In 2014, Meijer opened its southernmost store in Bowling Green, Kentucky. This store's parking lot even includes a Tesla supercharger for electric cars. Meijer was also one of the first retailers to accept both Apple Pay and CurrentC for payments.
Meijer continued to expand into new areas. In 2017–2018, they opened stores in Northeastern Wisconsin, serving Green Bay and Appleton. They also opened their first stores in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan in Escanaba and Sault Ste. Marie in 2017, and later in Marquette.
In 2019, Meijer expanded into the Cleveland–Akron area. In 2020, they opened stores in the Youngstown area. As of 2024, Meijer was looking into expanding into the Western Pennsylvania region, including Pittsburgh.
How Meijer Stores Operate
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Most Meijer stores are supercenters, meaning they combine a grocery store and a department store. About 80% of stores also have a Meijer Express fuel station and a small convenience store next to them. Some of these fuel stations offer different types of fuel, including E85 and biodiesel, and even electric vehicle charging stations.
Meijer has 259 stores across Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, Illinois, and Northern Kentucky. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, most Meijer stores were open 24 hours a day, almost every day of the year. Now, most Meijer stores are open from 6 AM to midnight daily. In 2013, Forbes magazine ranked Meijer as one of the top private companies.
Other Meijer Store Types
Over the years, Meijer has tried different types of stores.
Small-Format Markets
In 2018, Meijer opened Bridge Street Market in Grand Rapids. This was a smaller grocery store concept. Since then, they have opened similar markets like Woodward Corner Market in Royal Oak, Michigan (2020), Capital City Market in Lansing (2020), Rivertown Market in Detroit (2021), Fairfax Market in Cleveland (2024), and Independence Market in Independence Township, Michigan (2025).
Meijer Grocery
Meijer Grocery is a new type of store introduced in 2023. These are standard-sized grocery stores. The first two opened in Lake Orion and Macomb Township, Michigan in January 2023. A third location opened in Noblesville, Indiana in July 2024.
Fresh Thyme Market
Meijer also has a connection to Fresh Thyme Farmers Market, a chain of stores that sells organic food. Fresh Thyme stores began offering Meijer-branded items in 2021. The first Fresh Thyme store opened in Illinois in 2014. By January 2024, Fresh Thyme had 70 stores in 10 Midwestern states.
Marketing and Sponsorships
Meijer supports various community and sports activities. In 2006, Meijer helped create a special position at Calvin College to promote Dutch language and culture.
Meijer is the main sponsor of the Meijer LPGA Classic, a professional golf tournament for women held near Grand Rapids every year.
Meijer is also the official grocery sponsor for several professional sports teams in Detroit, including the Detroit Lions (football), Detroit Red Wings (hockey), and Detroit Tigers (baseball). Meijer's logo has been on the Red Wings' helmets since 2021 and on the Tigers' jerseys since 2023. Meijer also has the naming rights for the Lions' training center.
Additionally, Meijer sponsors the Cleveland Browns (football) and Cleveland Guardians (baseball).
Store Design
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Meijer stores are usually designed with the grocery section on one side and the general merchandise section on the other. Most Meijer stores are built from scratch. However, a few stores were converted from other retailers, like former Super Kmart stores in Lincoln Park, Michigan and Portage, Indiana.
Some older stores built in the 1960s and 1970s even had a balcony with small shops like barber shops. In the late 1990s, some Meijer stores had McDonald's restaurants inside. Today, most stores have a sit-down café, and some also have a Starbucks coffee shop or a Subway restaurant.
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In the 1990s, Meijer introduced new store designs. One design, used for the 1994 expansion into Indiana, had a "whimsical" look with different shapes and roof designs. A notable feature was a yellow "pineapple" made of yellow bricks and glass blocks. This design was meant to make Meijer seem like a "store of discovery." These stores also used large see-through walls to let natural light into the area above the cash registers.
Later designs included the "Presidential prototype" in 1997, which moved the Meijer logo to the center of the building. Around 2000, the "Village Square prototype" featured fake storefronts and a barn-like section. This was then replaced by the "Signature Series" and finally the current design. The current design emphasizes the entrances with tall glass walls and a tilted roof, giving them an "eyebrow" look.
The "Hypermarket" Idea
Meijer was the first retailer in the U.S. to launch the "supermarket" or "superstore" concept. This meant combining many different types of products under one roof. They did this when they opened the first Thrifty Acres store in 1962. Meijer sees itself as a grocery chain that added general merchandise to its grocery stores.
Images for kids
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Meijer store in Alpena, Michigan
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Interior of a Meijer in Southgate, Michigan, which opened in 1994.
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This logo was used from 1984 to 2004.
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The Gateway Marketplace Meijer store, opened in 2013 as the first Meijer to open within the city of Detroit.
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The Meijer in Lancaster, Ohio which opened in 1995.
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The interior of the Traverse City store in 2019.
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Capital City Market in Downtown Lansing, Michigan in 2021.
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Meijer Grocery, Lake Orion, Michigan in 2023.
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The produce department at a Fresh Thyme store in Greenwood, Indiana in 2023.
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The "Pineapple" design of a mid-1990s Meijer store in South Bend, Indiana.
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Interior of a Meijer in Cedar Springs, Michigan, which opened in 2009.
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The Meijer in Lincoln Park, Michigan in 2017.
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A Starbucks inside the Meijer in St. Charles, Illinois, in 2021.
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A Subway restaurant inside the Meijer in Sterling Heights, Michigan, in 2017.
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A renovated Meijer Store in Grand Rapids, Michigan, in 2008.
